


Snakey Hair

by OTPshipper98



Series: Harry Potter in English [15]
Category: Snakey Hair
Genre: Gorgon's snakes, Happy Ending, Harry is a Parselmouth, M/M, Mutual Pining, draco is hexed, eighth year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 10:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16785523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPshipper98/pseuds/OTPshipper98
Summary: An annoying hex, a bunch of annoying snakes and an even more annoying Draco Malfoy.





	Snakey Hair

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Gorgon's Snakes](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/436675) by Caroll-in. 



> This work was inspired by caroll-in's fanart that you all _need_ to see because oh my god it's _amazing_.
> 
> Thanks to KristineBrd for betaing!

Harry was in Charms class the first time it happened. At first, he assumed Lavender and Parvati were gossiping at the back of the room, but he soon decided the voices were inhumanly high-pitched. And there were definitely more than two of them.

He tried to ignore them, but found he couldn’t. Were they having a… a conversation? He’d definitely heard a few ‘and’s, and ‘on’s. Restless and curious, Harry looked down at his notes and concentrated on making out the words.

“ _Don’t like being trapped…_ ”

“ _Too dark—want to see!_ ”

“ _We should bite. Bite the string! Get free!_ ”

That last statement was followed by a chorus of excited cries, and Harry could swear he heard a much deeper voice hiss behind him. He turned to look, but Ron elbowed him. “What are you doing? Flitwick is staring at you!”

“Tell you later,” he muttered. Just as Flitwick turned around, he heard quick steps and the classroom door opening and closing. When he turned around, there was no one sitting behind him.

***

The second time it happened, Harry was sitting in Myrtle’s bathroom under his Invisibility Cloak, practicing non-verbal spells. He’d taken to hiding there whenever the pressure of being everyone’s hero was too much for him to handle. Which happened rather frequently these days.

The bathroom door closed with a loud bang, and Harry’s pulse raced. He was on his feet in a heartbeat.

“ _Free! We are free!_ ”

“ _But where is the rain?_ ”

“Bloody—ugh! _Finite incantatem_!”

Malfoy. That was Malfoy’s voice. Harry’s muscles relaxed somewhat as he quietly stepped around the corner to see—

To see Malfoy’s long strands of hair floating around him, twisting and turning like they were _alive_.

“You already tried that the other day, sweetheart,” came Myrtle’s voice as she floated towards Malfoy.

“I am very much aware, thank you!” Malfoy snapped. “I just don’t know what else to do to get rid of these—”

“ _Why are we inside the building again?_ ”

“ _Don’t know—I wanted to feel the rain!_ ”

Malfoy’s hair seemed to be pulling him towards the bathroom door, making him yelp. Were they—were those _snakes_?

“I know.” Myrtle’s voice was soft and worried. “I just don’t know what else to tell you, except—”

“—Don’t you start—”

“—you know there’s a certain Gryffindor who can talk to snakes and could help you figure out what it is that they want.”

“I am _not_ asking Potter for help. I’d rather—” Malfoy gritted his teeth as his strands pulled towards the door again. “Ugh, I’ll just tie them all in a bun.”

Myrtle’s eyes seemed to glisten with mischief as she moved around Malfoy. “You’ve tried that too. And braiding it, and wearing hoodies. Unless you cut it…”

“I’m not cutting my hair!”

“Well then,” Myrtle said in her sing-song voice, “I guess it’s a good thing that Harry Potter is standing right behind us right now.”

Malfoy turned around, letting go of his hair to reach for his wand. He scanned the bathroom, then squinted. “Potter,” he spat. “Show yourself, you bloody coward.”

Harry dropped the cloak. Their eyes met, and the playful, threatening look in Malfoy’s eyes made his heart jump with anticipation. He was in his element.

“Put your wands away,” said Myrtle, floating between them. “I don’t trust you two to not try to kill each other again.”

Malfoy huffed, his gaze still fixed on Harry. His smirk was full of disdain, and perhaps just a tiny bit of fondness. “Don’t worry, I have no interest in hurting him.” He stuck his wand in his pocket, and Harry followed suit. “Although you well damn know I should, Potter, you sneaky git.”

“ _Why is he not moving? Why are we still here?_ ”

“ _He is bickering with the green-eyed one!_ ”

“ _With the loved one?_ ”

“ _Yes, yes!_ ”

Harry shook his head. He must have heard wrong—they must have said _loathed._ It was still hard to understand the snakes, so that made sense. He stared at them, concentrating on their slithery shapes, and muttered, in what he hoped was Parseltongue, “ _Excuse me, but what did you just call me?_ ”

Every snake on Malfoy’s hair halted its movements to stare at him.

The uproar was deafening.

“ _He can talk to us!_ ”

“ _Green-eyed one, please take us outside!_ ”

“ _We want to be free!_ ”

Malfoy brought a hand to his hair, frowning. “Potter, what on Earth do you think you’re doing?”

“See, I told you he could help!” Myrtle squealed.

“ _I’ll tell him to take you outside,_ ” said Harry, “ _but I’d be very grateful if you could repeat what you said about me first._ ”

“ _You are the green-eyed one.”_

“ _Yes, the loved one._ ”

“ _The one our master thinks about the most!”_

“You think about me?” Harry blurted out. He didn't want to acknowledge the rest of it, but the thought invaded his mind and made his chest ache and flutter. _Malfoy… loves me?_

Malfoy's face scrunched up as he stepped back. “What—I—of course not!” Another step back. “Don’t listen to them!”

“Malfoy, wait!” Harry shouted. But the prat was already gone. He considered following him, but Myrtle’s giggle stopped him in his tracks.

“He's such a bad liar, don't you think?”

“What do you know?” Harry asked.

“Ooooh, I’m not gonna tell you! Where would be the fun in that?”

“So there _is_ something to know.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She giggled again, ascending towards the ceiling. “You’ll have to find out for yourself!”

***

The third time it happened, Harry was ready. Malfoy had been avoiding him since the previous day, so he’d made himself comfortable in the spot near the fireplace where the eighth year Slytherins usually gossiped.

He heard the excited, high-pitched whispers before Malfoy towered over him, his face inexpressive.

“Potter.”

“ _He is talking to him again!_ ”

“ _Too close to the fire!_ ”

Harry suppressed a smirk. This had been easier than he’d expected. “Yes, Malfoy?”

Malfoy’s fingers curled into fists. “I need to talk to you.” He looked around. “In private.”

“ _Yes!_ ”

“ _Will he tell the green-eyed one?_ ”

“ _Loved one, you must ask him about his feelings!_ ”

Harry bit his lip as he stood up. “Wanna go to Myrtle’s bathroom?”

“No, she won’t let us talk in peace. Maybe we could go to”—he cleared his throat —“my bedroom?”

Harry raised his eyebrows. Malfoy’s awkwardness was arousing his curiosity. “Okay, sure.“

“Wonderful,” Malfoy sneered. “Hurry up, then. I don’t have all day.”

Harry swore he could see a light blush covering his cheekbones as he turned away.

Prying looks and snickers followed them, but Harry was too busy to give a damn. Despite Malfoy’s efforts, his snakey strands were floating towards Harry, trying to talk to him all at once as they walked up the stairs.

“ _Loved one, you can still understand us, can you not?_ ”

“ _That’s right,_ ” said Harry.

“ _Do you love the rain?_ ”

“ _It’s soothing, yeah. But I also like the sun,_ ” he replied.

_“Oooh, we like it too!”_

_“But our master is always trying to imprison us!”_

_“Green-eyed one, do you like our master, too?_ ”

He couldn’t help but snort. “ _You guys can call me ‘Harry’. And… yeah, I sort of do. But please, don’t tell him yet._ ”

“ _We cannot communicate with him! We have been trying to tell him we want to be outside, to be free, but he will not listen!_ ”

Well, that was reassuring. It would’ve been annoying to be outed by a group of blond snakes. “ _But you can hear his thoughts?_ ”

“ _Not always…_ ”

“ _Only when they are strong._ ”

“ _But they are always strong when he thinks about you_.”

Malfoy shut his bedroom door behind them, and turned to face Harry. “You’d better be trying to figure out what these stupid things want from me, with all that hissing!”

“Oh, I’m figuring out lots of interesting stuff thanks to these buddies,” Harry grinned.

“Potter, I swear to Merlin—”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist; they literally just want you to go to the gardens for a while because they like the rain.” One of the snakes slithered towards Harry from over Malfoy’s frown, and Harry petted it lightly with a finger. “Are you gonna tell me what the hell happened to your hair?”

“Some stupid kid hexed me.” Malfoy waved a hand in dismissal. “Pomfrey said it would go away on its own. I just—I need to find a way to control them while they’re there. And no, I’m not going to spend the rest of the week in the gardens. Unlike others, I don’t have my entire future solved. I need to study for my NEWTs.”

“ _I wish master would tell him already!_ ”

“ _He is feeling such strong emotions for the green-eyed one right now!_ ”

“I thought we'd agreed to stop taunting each other this year.” Harry tried to sound annoyed, but found he couldn't. Not with the little snake curling around his finger and rambling about how pleased it was.

Malfoy looked like he wanted to complain, but all he said was, “You’re right. Sorry.”

“Look, how about you study for a few hours while I chat with your hair?” Merlin, that was such a bizarre thing to say. “Then we can go outside for a bit so they’re happy.”

“ _We_ can go outside? And what exactly do you want us to do?”

Malfoy sounded so sceptical, Harry just _had_ to taunt him. “Walk hand in hand by the Great Lake, what do you think?” Malfoy's look of utter shock made him snort. “Nah, seriously, how about we play a Seeker's game? You did promise me we'd do that someday.”

“You're a prat, Potter, I hope you know that,” Malfoy muttered.

Harry winked. As he started towards the armchair that sat beside Malfoy's desk, he murmured, “That's why you love me.”

***

It was pouring the last time it happened. Harry halted mid-air to pull out his wand and cast another warming spell over himself. Malfoy had only agreed to play Quidditch if Harry didn’t _Impervius_ himself either, and he was _soaked_. One thing was for sure, though—Malfoy’s snakes were having the time of their lives. They were like excitable children, and Harry found that he was growing fond of them. But they were the only golden thing that had caught his eye in the past hour and a half, and it was getting darker and colder by the minute.

“Oi, Malfoy! Should we call it quits?” He finally shouted. Malfoy chose that moment to bolt past him, and Harry didn’t even stop to think—he followed him even before he caught sight of the _snitch_ from the corner of his eye. He sped up until, finally, he was neck in neck with Malfoy.

“ _Exhilarating!_ ”

“ _I never dreamed I would fly across the skies like a dragon!_ ”

“ _Rain!_ ”

“ _Freedom!_ ”

The snakes seemed to be pulling in every direction, and one of them even started singing. Malfoy shook his head again and again, lagging behind as Harry leaned forward, stretched his arm and, straining, gripped the _snitch_ between his cold fingers.

He’d barely touched the ground when Malfoy strode towards him, looking furious.

Harry smirked. “Good match, eh, Malfoy?”

“You cheating bastard! You waited until these damned things got in my way to beat me!”

Lightning flashed behind them, illuminating Malfoy’s soaked, yet somehow still floating hair. He should’ve looked ridiculous, but he was—Merlin, he was amazing. The drops of water framed his face as they rolled down his jaw, and his eyes shone with a rage that made him look much more alive than he’d seemed since they’d returned to Hogwarts.

They were standing close, both heaving, Malfoy gritting his teeth as he awaited a reply. Several snakes slithered towards Harry, murmuring words of awe and shaking and rejoicing as the rain drenched them.

The snake that parted from atop Malfoy’s forehead was the first to caress Harry’s own.

“ _His feelings for you are more intense than flying._ ”

“Potter?”

Malfoy didn’t look outraged anymore. He looked confused, and a little bit lost.

Harry cleared his throat. He didn’t trust his voice. “We can have a rematch when they’re gone.”

More and more snakes reached towards him, as though straining to touch his face too. Malfoy tripped, and Harry clasped his arm before he could stop himself.

Malfoy’s gaze was burning his skin as he stared at Harry’s hand on him. Harry knew he should let go now, but everything inside him was shaking, and he was almost certain it had nothing to do with the cold.

“Hey, so… the snakes may have said a few things about, uh, your… feelings for me.” Harry flinched at his own tone. He suddenly felt like taking a vow of silence, but the urge was dimmed by the vulnerability that bloomed on Malfoy's expression and the whispers that bursted around him.

“ _Such strong emotions!_ ”

“ _More! Closer!_ ”

“A-and before you say anything, I just wanted to say that I”—he closed his eyes—“I feel the same.”

“ _Harry_.”

“Draco,” Harry gasped. It felt like breathing out after holding it in—like crying and laughing from happiness and relief. And it was indeed better than flying.

Malfoy—Draco—leaned forward, gave him a quick peck on the lips. Then he pulled back and surveyed Harry's face.

Harry couldn't think, couldn't help it—he threaded his fingers through Draco's scalp and brought their lips together again. His head was engulfed in a wave of snakey strands, and Draco's scent blended with the aroma of rain and earth that surrounded them.

The snakes’ cries of victory turned into wails of ecstasy when Harry savoured the warm inside of Draco's lower lip. It made Harry moan and bring their bodies closer with his free hand.

The whispers eventually faded away, but Harry was too exhilarated to care. It wasn't until Draco gasped for air that Harry opened his eyes to see his strands were no longer floating around them, but hanging damp and unmoving around Draco's shoulders.

“I was considering getting revenge on the kid who hexed me,” Draco murmured. “But now I kind of want to thank them.”

Harry chuckled breathlessly. “Well I'm gonna ask them to hex you again. I miss your snakey hair already.”

Malfoy grinned. “But not before I get that rematch.”


End file.
